The Craze of Entering the Civil Service
【精彩范文】
The Craze of Entering the Civil Service
For over a decade, the craze of Chinese college graduates taking qualifying examinations to become civil servants has remained unabated. An important proportion of graduates view civil service as their top priority in job selection and they spare no efforts in preparing for those examinations, sometimes years before their graduation.
To some extent, this craze is a modern revival of the ancient notion that “those who excel in academics end up in officialdom.” In the present-day China, however, there are complicated reasons underlying this phenomenon. The jobs in sectors other than civil service are insecure and unstable, and employees have to work under greater stress faced with growing competitions in the workplace and the industry. Some government departments are related to monopolized industries and civil servants can enjoy unusually high salaries and welfare benefits. Finally, government officials are usually regarded as occupying the highest rung of the social hierarchy and a student who succeeds in becoming government official is considered the pride of the family, adding prestige and glory to the entire clan.
For all the apparent attractions of the officialdom, the craze of entering the civil service is a distorted one. In the United States, truly ambitious students enter the industry instead of civil departments, where they apply their individual initiative to achieve personal success. It has already been pointed out that, with so many best minds of the nation fighting their way into the civil sectors, the consequences are catastrophic. The civil servants system, with its inherent bureaucracy and rigid rules, would inevitably turn the otherwise energetic and aggressive young people into docile followers of their superiors’ instructions and dutiful but mediocre implementers of executive orders. This will considerably undermine the vitality of a whole generation and the competitiveness of the entire country in the international arena. All forms of craze are accompanied by elements of irrationality and abnormality and, the sooner this craze vanishes, the better.
【參考譯文】
考公務(wù)員熱
十多年以來(lái)，中國(guó)大學(xué)畢業(yè)生參加資格考試成為公務(wù)員的熱潮，一直勢(shì)頭強(qiáng)勁，絲毫不減。相當(dāng)一部分比例的大學(xué)畢業(yè)生將文職系統(tǒng)作為其選擇工作的最優(yōu)項(xiàng)，并且不遺余力地進(jìn)行備考，有時(shí)往往在畢業(yè)前的幾年就著手進(jìn)行了。
在某種程度上，這般熱潮是“學(xué)而優(yōu)則仕”這一古代觀念在現(xiàn)代的復(fù)活。但在當(dāng)下的中國(guó)，這一現(xiàn)象背后則隱藏著更為復(fù)雜的原因。文職體系之外的部門(mén)中，工作缺乏穩(wěn)定性和固定性；面對(duì)著工作單位內(nèi)部以及來(lái)自業(yè)界的日趨激烈的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)，雇員們必須在更大的壓力下工作。成為公務(wù)員則舒適安慰得多。另外，某些政府機(jī)構(gòu)與壟斷行業(yè)有關(guān)，那里的公務(wù)員可以享受到極高的薪水和福利待遇。最后，政府官員往往被視為占據(jù)著社會(huì)等級(jí)體系中最高的層級(jí)，一個(gè)能成功地成為政府官員的學(xué)生無(wú)不被看作家庭的驕傲，能夠?yàn)檎麄€(gè)家族帶來(lái)聲譽(yù)和榮耀。
盡管公務(wù)員體系不乏所有這些明顯的誘人之處，但考公務(wù)員熱卻是一個(gè)畸形扭曲的現(xiàn)象。在美國(guó)，真正有抱負(fù)的學(xué)生，會(huì)選擇進(jìn)入業(yè)界，而非進(jìn)入文職部門(mén)；在業(yè)界，他們發(fā)揮其個(gè)人進(jìn)取心，來(lái)實(shí)現(xiàn)人生的成就。早就有人指出，中國(guó)如許多最優(yōu)秀的人才削尖了腦袋往文職部門(mén)里擠，其后果是災(zāi)難性的。公務(wù)員體系，以其所固有的官僚體制及清規(guī)戒律，會(huì)將原本是精力充沛、敢做敢為的年輕一代，變成服服帖帖的應(yīng)聲蟲(chóng)，對(duì)長(zhǎng)官意志惟命是從；在執(zhí)行行政命令的過(guò)程中，雖恪盡職守，但終究碌碌無(wú)為。這將在相當(dāng)程度上削弱整個(gè)一代人的活力，削弱整個(gè)國(guó)家在國(guó)際競(jìng)技場(chǎng)上的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)力。所有的狂熱背后必伴隨著非理性與反常的成分，因此，考公務(wù)員熱如能盡早消失，則善莫大矣。
【值得熟記的句式與短語(yǔ)】
1. taking qualifying examinations to become civil servants參加資格考試成為公務(wù)員
2. An important proportion of很大一部分
3. top priority最先考慮
4. spare no efforts不遺余力
5. those who excel in academics end up in officialdom學(xué)而優(yōu)則仕
6. there are complicated reasons underlying this phenomenon這一現(xiàn)象背后隱藏著復(fù)雜的原因
7. be faced with面對(duì)著
8. monopolized industries壟斷行業(yè)
9. enjoy unusually high salaries and welfare benefits享受到極高的薪水和福利待遇
10. occupy the highest rung of the social hierarchy占據(jù)著社會(huì)等級(jí)體系中最高的層級(jí)
11. the pride of the family家庭的驕傲
12. adding prestige and glory to the entire clan能夠?yàn)檎麄€(gè)家族帶來(lái)聲譽(yù)和榮耀
13. apply their individual initiative to achieve personal success發(fā)揮其個(gè)人進(jìn)取心，來(lái)實(shí)現(xiàn)人生的成就
14. with so many best minds of the nation fighting their way into the civil sectors中國(guó)如許多最優(yōu)秀的人才削尖了腦袋往文職部門(mén)里擠
15. its inherent bureaucracy and rigid rules固有的官僚體制及清規(guī)戒律
16. dutiful but mediocre implementers of executive orders在執(zhí)行行政命令的過(guò)程中，雖恪盡職守，但終究碌碌無(wú)為
17. undermine the vitality of a whole generation削弱整個(gè)一代人的活力
18. elements of irrationality and abnormality非理性與反常的成分
